Victorians Surrender 1,300 Machetes and Knives in 2 Weeks

The government is telling Victorians to put machetes and dangerous knives in bins.

Machetes on display during an announcement at Victoria Police Headquarters in Melbourne, Australia on March 13, 2025. AAP Image/James Ross

More than 1,300 machetes and dangerous knives have been surrendered by Victorians after the machete ban came into force on Sept. 1.

The ban makes it illegal to carry, transport, sell or buy machetes in Victoria, with up to two years of jail and $47,000 fines applying.

Major retailers have handed in 3,400 machetes between Sept. 1 to 12, while Victorian residents have disposed 1,362.

Machetes are large, broad-bladed cutting knives that come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Victorian police have also seized a record 10,800 dangerous weapons from Victorian streets due to “stop and search powers” introduced by the Labor government.

Despite the ban taking effect, two children were killed in an alleged machete attack on Sept. 6 while walking home from basketball.

The government has set up safe machete disposal bins at 45 police stations in metropolitan and regional Victoria.

Residents have three months to hand in the machetes to the police without facing any consequences.

Acting Premier Ben Carroll and Minister for Police Anthony Carbines visited Richmond Police Station on Sept. 16 to remind residents to “put their machetes and dangerous knives in the bins” before the amnesty ends.

“Our first duty is to keep the community safe, and there will be zero tolerance for illegal machetes on our streets,” Carroll said.

“These weapons have no place on our streets—Victorians are doing the right thing by dumping them before they face the harsh penalties.”

Carbines said knife crime had devastating consequences.

“That’s why we’re drying up the supply of these dangerous weapons with our nation-leading ban and expanded stop and search powers to get them off the streets for good,” he said. 

“There are ten weeks left of the amnesty. If you still have machetes, drop them off at a bin to avoid harsh penalties, including jail time.”

Battin Concerned About Crime in Victoria

Crime is shaping up to be a major issue in the lead-up to the Victorian election in November 2026.

Liberal Opposition leader Brad Battin accused Labor of cutting crime prevention funding during a crime crisis in a post to X on Sept. 16.

“We'll bring it back. Our Restart and Youthstart programs will give young, serious and repeat offenders a new start at life,” he said.

“Only the Liberals and Nationals will fix Labor’s crime crisis through our $100M Safer Communities Plan.”

At a Liberal State Council meeting on Sept. 13, Battin launched the Liberal Party’s plan to fight crime in Victoria.

If elected to government, the Victorian Liberals will introduce Jack’s Law, to remove weapons from the streets, including machetes.

“Police and Protective Service Officers will have the power to use handheld wands in any public place, including train stations, shopping centres, and knife crime hotspots, without the need for designations,” Battin said.

Jack’s Law is Queensland legislation named in honour of Jack Beasley, a 17-year-old who was fatally stabbed in Surfers Paradise in 2019.

Battin said police need the tools and resources to act to restore community safety and enable Victorians to live free from fear.

“I am fighting for safer communities where Victorians feel secure in their homes, safe at the shops and on the streets,” Battin said.

The Safe Communities Plan will also include funding for a Victorian residential responsibility and discipline program named Restart, and a community intervention program named Youthstart.

This comes on top of the Victorian Liberals’ plan to deliver tougher bail laws, with a “Break Bail, Face Jail policy.”

Meanwhile, Libertarian MLC David Limbrick has achieved support on a motion requiring the government to provide more information on the machete bins.

Limbrick is seeking information on how much the machetes cost and where they were made.

“Interestingly, during the debate, the government did not admit where the bins were made although they did confirm the cost to be around $2,400 as we already knew,” Limbrick said on Sept. 10.